Asos finance chief is the perfect fit for top job

Nick Beighton will take the place of Nick Robertson as head of AsosSuzanne Plunkett/Reuters

The chief operating officer at Asos is to replace the online fashion retailer’s founder and chief executive.

The move, which will be announced this morning, sees Nick Beighton take the place of Nick Robertson, 15 years after he founded the “As Seen On Screen” company to sell fashion featured in films and television.

Mr Robertson, the great-grandson of Austin Reed, has become synonymous with the company and led a new generation of “disruptive” businesses that have succeeded where the darlings of the dotcom boom failed.

Mr Beighton joined the company in 2009 and moved from finance director to chief operating officer last October in what was seen as a dry run for the top job. Helen Ashton, his replacement as finance director, started her new…